Chapter 489: A Lunchbox That Cannot Be Stored in a Storage Spirit Tool
Qi Han had intended to say a few more comforting words to his new neighbor, but he quickly noticed that when he patted the other man on the shoulder, the man's expression became even stiffer.
What's going on…?
After a brief pause, Qi Han suddenly realized something.
This new neighbor… socially anxious?
Judging from the way he seemed uncomfortable with his friendly gesture, that was probably the case.
Qi Han couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic. A socially anxious young man having to independently run a brand-new shop—must be tough.
He also wondered what kind of store the man was opening. Maybe he could support the business in the future.
People with social anxiety usually dislike unfamiliar people getting too close. Thinking of this, Qi Han deliberately stepped back to give the man more space. With a smile, he simply said:
"When your shop opens, I'll come by to support your business."
After that, he turned around and walked back to Han Shi.
Yep, I'm really a thoughtful and considerate neighbor, Qi Han thought proudly.
He then closed the shop door, entered the training space, and began another round of training.
What he didn't know was how devastating that last sentence was to Fang Qing.
"Support your business…"
Fang Qing suddenly felt a chill spread through his entire body.
Since Qi Han had already seen through everything they were doing, he must know that running the shop was just a cover, and that their real mission was to monitor him.
Then why would he say such a thing?
There had to be a hidden meaning.
And that hidden meaning was…
Fang Qing's heart trembled.
I understand now!
Qi Han intended to monitor him in return—and perhaps even observe every move of the Secret Intelligence Division!
In an instant, Fang Qing felt his hands and feet turn ice cold. He glanced toward the tightly shut door of Han Shi not far away. Just imagining that Qi Han might be standing behind that door right now, watching him with methods he couldn't even detect, made a chill shoot straight to the top of his head.
He stiffly walked into his half-renovated shop and quickly used the Secret Intelligence Division's special method to report the situation to his superior.
But then he froze.
Wait.
There's a traitor inside the Secret Intelligence Division.
And he doesn't even know who it is.
What if… it's my superior?
His hand paused.
Forget it. I'll report directly to the Emperor.
Fortunately, because of their authority within the Secret Intelligence Division, every agent had the right to report intelligence directly to the emperor. Otherwise, Fang Qing would feel even more hopeless right now.
Thinking of this, he crushed the half-written report in his hand into powder and took out a new sheet of paper to rewrite it.
A secret report directly to the emperor naturally required different wording.
…
"You're back?"
De Hongchen lifted his head from his work. The spirit bone that had previously only been half-modified had now completely lost its original form. It had become part of a core formation, covered with countless tiny and intricate metal structures, along with complex patterns engraved across its surface like a field of stars.
The core formation was about seventy to eighty percent complete. Of course, it was still far from the spirit-guided full-body armor he envisioned.
What De Hongchen imagined was a suit of armor made up of multiple spirit tool components. Using the principles of spirit tool arrays, these components would be interconnected, allowing them to enhance one another—achieving an effect where one plus one is greater than two. It would be a new invention to greatly improve the individual combat strength of a Spirit Engineer.
Based on the cooperation of spirit tool arrays, the design was theoretically feasible, but making it a success would require a long period of experimentation and adjustment.
(P.S.: This isn't a Battle Armor from Soul Land 3 and 4. It's more like the special lightweight combat spirit tool armor used by Meng Hongchen in Soul Land 2.)
However…
For now, De Hongchen had decided to temporarily set aside the spirit-guided full-body armor project.
With anticipation in his eyes, he looked at his son entering the laboratory. When his gaze landed on the black lunchbox in Yao Hongchen's hand, his face immediately lit up with delight.
"What delicious food did you bring back? I'm just getting hungry."
As he spoke, he eagerly walked toward Yao Hongchen.
However, Yao Hongchen's expression was not relaxed. He seemed to be deep in thought. When his father approached, he immediately spoke:
"Father, there's something strange about this lunchbox."
"Why would there be a problem with a lunchbox?"
De Hongchen took the lunchbox from Yao Hongchen's hand without much concern. He was just about to open it and see what the dishes from Han Shi—which he had been thinking about all day—actually tasted like when he heard Yao Hongchen's next sentence.
"The lunchboxes from Han Shi… cannot be stored inside a storage spirit tool."
Hmm?
De Hongchen's hand froze in midair.
On his finger was a ring-like jewel that shimmered with blue starlight. It suddenly emitted a faint glow—but the lunchbox in his hand did not move at all.
After a brief attempt to test it again, De Hongchen's expression also became somewhat strange.
So it's really true?
Seeing that his father's attempt to store the lunchbox in the Starlight Sapphire had failed, Yao Hongchen revealed an expression of just as I expected.
When he first obtained the lunchbox from Han Shi, Yao Hongchen had casually intended to place it inside his storage spirit tool. To his surprise, he discovered that the lunchbox could not be placed inside.
This was extremely unusual.
There were quite a few things that storage spirit tools could not store—items whose size exceeded the storage limit, other storage spirit tools, and living creatures. However, the reasons for these restrictions were different.
The storage space created by a storage spirit tool had fixed dimensions—length, width, and height. If an object larger than the storage space itself was forced into it, the space would collapse and the storage spirit tool would be destroyed.
But note that in such cases there is a sequence: the item is stored first, and only afterward does the overload cause the collapse.
The lunchbox in front of them could not even be placed inside in the first place, so it clearly did not fall under this situation. Besides, its size was far too small to exceed the storage space.
The second situation involved placing one storage spirit tool inside another. If such a nesting situation were possible, people could simply stack many low-level storage spirit tools together to achieve an effect similar to that of a high-level storage spirit tool.
Unfortunately, this was impossible. Research had shown that inserting a new storage space into an already unstable storage space would cause both spaces to collapse simultaneously. Therefore, objects with storage functions could not be placed inside storage spirit tools.
But again, this scenario also followed the sequence of store first, collapse afterward. It would not result in something that simply could not be stored at all.
The third situation involved placing living creatures into a storage spirit tool.
After long research, Spirit Engineers had discovered that creatures possessing conscious awareness could not be placed inside storage spirit tools. Even the weakest creature's subconscious resistance would forcibly interrupt the process of entering the storage space.
However, unconscious creatures could be placed inside.
But since storage spaces contained no air, any unconscious creature stored inside would quickly die of suffocation.
Looking at all this, the only possible explanation for the lunchbox being impossible to store would be…
That it was a conscious living being?
This conclusion was simply too absurd. The truth could not possibly be that.
There had to be something special about the lunchbox itself—or perhaps there was some unknown flaw or loophole in storage spirit tools.
After discovering this anomaly, Yao Hongchen had hurried back, hoping his father could determine the cause.
"Father, why is this—"
Yao Hongchen paused mid-sentence when he saw De Hongchen had already opened the lunchbox, taken out the dish inside, and was happily sniffing it with great satisfaction.
Helplessness appeared on Yao Hongchen's face.
This was a matter related to storage spirit tools, something extremely significant!
Couldn't he take it a little more seriously?!
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Latest Chapter: Chapter 505: Qi Han's Choice[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/posts/becoming-food-in-155496005
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/becoming-food-in-155496005